When I bought this HC-V180K camcorder, it was mainly intended to be used as a dash cam or window cam, sometimes for travel use. Camera or cheap video recorder. But I settled on the HC-V180K as an all-in-one photo/camcorder/DVR that fits my $200 budget. As a dashcam, it works well with a wide field of view at 1 zoom. There are settings that let you choose between file types and resolution if you want the files to be smaller and allow for more recording time. The functions are controlled via a combination of touchscreen and buttons and I found them quite intuitive. If you're using this to shoot sports or anything else where you want to track fast-moving subjects, you'll want to spend the extra money on a model with a viewfinder. The zoom lens lets you capture distant objects, but it's almost impossible to track anything with the small LCD screen. In fact, this is not a disadvantage of this model, you just need to know about it.